An open letter to Abrams from the Asian Author Alliance, signed by more than 1,000 writers, teachers and readers, reads: “The simple fact is that today, the biggest terrorist threat in the United States is white supremacy. In publishing A Suicide Bomber Sits in the Library, Abrams is willfully fear-mongering and spreading harmful stereotypes in a failed attempt to show the power of story.”

McKean responded to some of the controversy on Twitter: “The premise of the book is that a boy uses his mind and faith to decide for himself that violence is not the right course or action.” The book was due to be published next May.

Understandably Tom Spurgeon is still gathering his thoughts regarding the situation in Paris but his initial reaction is still a must read specifically for this line of thinking:

In terms of practical considerations if an entity coordinated last night’s attacks in a way that they have the complexity and power and intent that seemed to me indicated by my initial reading of last night’s on-the-ground news, this may present a real security issue for the festival in Angouleme that maybe wasn’t as reasonable to expect or fear for last year’s show.